Hooking up my Dynaudio BM5A's to laptop?

Jexx · 27th July 2011, 10:19 PM

Hey.

So I just purchased some Dynaudio BM5A studio monitors and both have just one XLR female input.

Is there a cable that will take a regular 1/8" stereo jack and convert it to two mono (mono right and mono left) XLR male jacks?

I found this: Hosa CYX403 Stereo 18 Male to Dual XLR Male Adapter Cable | Sam Ash Music 1-800-4-SAMASH and it has everything I want, except it seems that since it's a balanced cable, both speakers would be playing the same thing. BUT, I was thinking if I bought that, I could just clip off one of the metal prongs on each XLR cable and hence get unbalanced stereo sound. How does that sound?

dogsbark26 · 27th July 2011, 11:45 PM

You seem confused about what a balanced connection is. Surely you do not mean to say that "both have just one XLR female input". They must each have one XLR female input?

A balanced connection requires three wires for each channel in a stereo pair. So for example, a stereo signal (left and right) in a balanced system would use six conductors.

A single channel in a balanced connection has a positive signal conductor (+), a negative signal conductor (-), and a signal ground.

Jexx · 28th July 2011, 01:04 AM

I confess, I'm confused about what a balanced connection is. I didn't understand how XLR cable works. At this point I've mostly dealt with regular speaker cable and headphone/earphone cable (with ground (-), right(+), and left (+)), and so I was thinking the XLR cable was the same thing. I appreciate your clarification. That's the whole crux of the matter and why my post is essentially riddled with stupidity in retrospect.

And yeah that's what I meant to say: each speaker has its own XLR female input.

So essentially, the cable I linked is exactly what I need with no modified connections, correct? Thanks!

dangus · 30th July 2011, 07:55 AM

Take a look at the manual for the powered speakers; they should show how to wire a plug when using an unbalanced source. Or read the tech note at Rane.com on the subject. If you want to DIY using a spare 1/8" patch cable, Neutrik XLRs are good value and nice to work with. See the Sam Ash description: "Tip to PIN 2 LEFT, Ring to PIN 2 RIGHT, and sleeve to PINS 1 & 3 of both XLRs, whether male or female."

27th July 2011, 10:19 PM	#1
Jexx diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2006	Hooking up my Dynaudio BM5A's to laptop? Hey. So I just purchased some Dynaudio BM5A studio monitors and both have just one XLR female input. Is there a cable that will take a regular 1/8" stereo jack and convert it to two mono (mono right and mono left) XLR male jacks? I found this: Hosa CYX403 Stereo 18 Male to Dual XLR Male Adapter Cable \| Sam Ash Music 1-800-4-SAMASH and it has everything I want, except it seems that since it's a balanced cable, both speakers would be playing the same thing. BUT, I was thinking if I bought that, I could just clip off one of the metal prongs on each XLR cable and hence get unbalanced stereo sound. How does that sound?

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27th July 2011, 11:45 PM	#2
dogsbark26 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Chicago	You seem confused about what a balanced connection is. Surely you do not mean to say that "both have just one XLR female input". They must each have one XLR female input? A balanced connection requires three wires for each channel in a stereo pair. So for example, a stereo signal (left and right) in a balanced system would use six conductors. A single channel in a balanced connection has a positive signal conductor (+), a negative signal conductor (-), and a signal ground.

28th July 2011, 01:04 AM	#3
Jexx diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2006	I confess, I'm confused about what a balanced connection is. I didn't understand how XLR cable works. At this point I've mostly dealt with regular speaker cable and headphone/earphone cable (with ground (-), right(+), and left (+)), and so I was thinking the XLR cable was the same thing. I appreciate your clarification. That's the whole crux of the matter and why my post is essentially riddled with stupidity in retrospect. And yeah that's what I meant to say: each speaker has its own XLR female input. So essentially, the cable I linked is exactly what I need with no modified connections, correct? Thanks!

30th July 2011, 07:55 AM	#4
dangus diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Vancouver Island	Take a look at the manual for the powered speakers; they should show how to wire a plug when using an unbalanced source. Or read the tech note at Rane.com on the subject. If you want to DIY using a spare 1/8" patch cable, Neutrik XLRs are good value and nice to work with. See the Sam Ash description: "Tip to PIN 2 LEFT, Ring to PIN 2 RIGHT, and sleeve to PINS 1 & 3 of both XLRs, whether male or female."